I am very grateful to Zoi that a way could be found to save the competition. The children and young people throughout Baden-Württemberg have been preparing for months to present their musical pieces. Cancellation would not only have been very disappointing for our participants but also extremely demotivating in terms of music education. Well over 3,500 videos uploaded with some great performances speak for themselves. Almost 400 participants even made it to the national competition Jugend Musiziert in Bremen, where Baden-Württemberg is now well represented – Thank you Zoi!

HOSTING A MUSIC COMPETITION DURING A PANDEMIC

The annual JuMu competition has been a mainstay on the German music scene since 1972 and entered its 58th edition in 2021. Every year, thousands of BW’s most talented youth musicians gather to perform their skills in a 5-day showcase. Organizing an event like this poses many challenges; even in the best of times. However, when you consider the current situation, the challenges multiply. 

It was clear that the event could not happen in person without extraordinary measures being taken. Therefore, a digital platform to connect musicians seemed the most logical. However, there were still many challenges. For example, the platform needed to be accessible, easy to use, secure, reliable, high performing, and able to process huge amounts of data. 

The JuMu competition is a big event in the life of an aspiring young musician. It provides a public stage to show their skills, recognition from top musical organizations, and a top cash prize of €15,000 for the winners to kickstart their careers. Therefore, it is important to make sure the competition could be held despite the special circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

THE ZOI SOLUTION PLAYS FIRST FIDDLE

The benefits of the AWS Cloud platform addressed exactly the challenges faced by the LMR-BW and the JuMu competition. Together with Zoi, a purpose-built platform to host the competition was created. 

CREATING A SEAMLESS AND FUNCTIONAL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

One of the main focuses of the platform was data security. Therefore, an end-to-end encryption system was built into the platform for maximum security, and login was done by token; which meant no personal data was needed or stored at any point. 

Optimal performance was ensured through a serverless architecture. This meant large amounts of data associated with uploading content – such as high-quality musical performances – could be processed without a problem. 

Lastly, an intuitive and functional user interface for both mobile and desktop applications was also adjusted to the design of the Musikrat website to give the user a sense of seamless integration.

THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE PLATFORM

The solution built by Zoi included a secure and intuitive cloud-based platform with secured bandwidth for data processing. The platform was hosted using AWS. JuMu contestants were asked to record themselves playing their instrument before uploading their files to the Zoi-created platform.

During the competition, the number of visitors to the website of the Landesmusikrat Baden-Würrtemberg increased almost tenfold to several thousand visitors per day. The architecture used was able to handle this increase automatically without any problems – one of the many benefits of cloud technology.

As Corona persists, uniting people is more important than ever and the use of cloud-based platforms to host large events, such as JuMu, is only going to increase. Having an easy-to-use platform to facilitate these kinds of events is crucial to this goal. 

WHY ZOI?

The LMR-BW chose Zoi because of Zoi’s cloud expertise and ability to develop bespoke IT solutions. Being cloud experts meant Zoi could build a customized solution for LMR-BW within only two weeks of the first meeting. 

Good News: The solution framework was designed to be easily implemented for similar events in the future, and will be used at the same competition in Saxony.

ABOUT THE JUGEND MUSIZIERT COMPETITION

The Jugend Musiziert (JuMu) is an annual competition coordinated by the Deutscher Musikrat and organized by the Landesmusikrat from each state of the federal republic. It is the world's largest youth music competition with around 5,000 young German musicians and singers participating every year. 

The competition is divided into different musical categories and age groups. The winners of the state competition will qualify for the national competition where they represent the state in the best possible way. The competition in Baden-Württemberg is organized by the Landesmusikrat of Baden-Württemberg e.V. (LMR-BW). The winners from BW are honored every year at a festive concert in the »Weißen Saal des Neuen Schlosses« in Stuttgart.

The LMR-BW stresses the importance of bringing music to people of all ages. Together with Zoi, the stage for the next generation of musical stars is set. 

Contestants were asked to record their performance, log in to their LMR-BW account, upload their performance to the cloud, and send their performance to the judges.